The present invention relates to antimicrobial surgical aids, particularly sutures, that have present on the surface thereof a polymer coating, particularly an antimicrobial composition that is not readily removed from the suture by leaching with water.
Germicidal sutures are described in the U.S. Pat. Nos. 861,231; 1,741,893; and 2,751,910 and more recently in patents that have issued to Dr. Leonard D. Kurtz, i.e., U.S. Pat. No. 3,642,003. South African Pat. No. 724,131 describes a suture having long-lasting germicidal properties against both gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria due to the presence within the suture of an insoluble salt of a cation of a basic antibiotic and an anion of an acid antibiotic, i.e., gentamycin oxacillinate. It is stated that such sutures, after being placed in mice for 5 days show no growth of organisms when removed and placed in a culture medium.
The Kliment et al British Pat. No. 1,248,513 and the Shepherd U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,416 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,674,901 describe coated sutures that will accept medicinal agents. But, it is a disadvantage of the suture coatings described that they have inferior mechanical properties and are easily removed from the suture.
The suture of the present invention offers an advantage over those described in South African Pat. No. 724,131 in that any anionic or cationic antimicrobial may be incorporated in the suture, and the incorporation may take place at the time of manufacture or at the time of use. Once incorporated in the suture, the antimicrobial will be retained by the suture strand over extended periods of use. Water, blood and tissue fluids slowly leach the antimicrobial compound of the suture over a prolonged period of time.